Doesn't Matter Anymore, Does It?
by A'isha Ishtar
Summary: Neither thought the spirit was capable of love. But they are shocked to discover that the reason he is so bitter is, in fact, a woman. Is there any way to bring her back, so he can see her one last time? Thief!Bakura/OC, Yami Bakura/OC, slight Ryou/OC
1. Nightmare

**I am YUGIOH CRAZY!**

**I actually wrote the first chapter quite a while ago, and didn't know if it was worthy of or not. But I've decided to post it regardless, with the promise that the next chapter and all future chapters WILL be better.**

**... Mostly I kinda just wanted to do a Thief 'Kura story...**

**But with flashes back to the present, and also I know Dani's intro was kind of rough and weird, but there'll be flashbacks to when Bakura offered to let her live with him because of the fire. Should add a bit more depth to it, I'm hoping.**

**... 'Cause I think right now, she's just kinda... there. Like a "boo hoo me" kind of OC. And I DON'T want her to be like that and she's not like that, but I wanted to get right to the point of the story and not build up the Ryou/Dani thing too much yet. 'Cause mainly this is about ancient Egypt and Thief Bakura's life with my other OC. Ryou/Dani WILL definitely come up, but more as a... side dish. You know, like a meal. Thief!Kura/Masika is the meat and potatoes, and Ryou/Dani is the green beans, and then Yami Bakura/Masika (which really isn't much different from the "meat and potatoes" pairing) is the double chocolate fudge cake.**

**... Yay?**

**Well, sorry about my windbag-ish A/N. On to the story, hope you guys enjoy it!**

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><p>Dani had lived with Ryou Bakura for about two months now. He had been nice enough to offer her a place to stay after a fire had destroyed her own home. Actually, he was the only one she trusted well enough to let him provide a living space for her. He was the one she knew wouldn't do anything to harm her body or her sanity. She agreed to it, and she'd been living here for sixty-three days and counting... and it was actually nice.<p>

Still, she had never known Yami Bakura, his dark side (from the Millennium Ring), to have any trouble sleeping. Certainly not nightmares, even. That was normally Bakura she had to comfort when he'd had a bad dream. Yami Bakura - well, to be perfectly honest, Yami Bakura was usually the one _causing_ Bakura's nightmares. But he never experienced them himself - until this past week, that was. This last week, starting on Sunday, he'd been having awful nightmares.

Neither Bakura nor Dani could figure out the cause, nor could they console him. They were both virtually distraught; after all, even though he was often annoying and mischievous (and at times a big pain in the tuchus thanks to the evil situations he cooked up), they still considered him a part of the family. Okay, so Dani really wasn't a member of their biological family, but she still saw herself as a member of the house, therefore she had duties... and the way she figured, duties made her a part of the family. And she cared about the psycho Yami as much as Bakura did.

Yami Bakura's nightmares always made themselves known the same exact way. And unfortunately, that way was screaming. Dani wished the nightmares would have picked a quieter way to present themselves, but so be it. She and Bakura would be woken up by shrieks from the living room, where Yami Bakura chose to sleep most of the time. (He had his own room, but for some reason, he preferred the lumpy couch to his bed.)

They would come out of their rooms, look at each other sleepily, then race to the living room, where they always found the same thing every night. They would see Yami Bakura on the floor, struggling desperately to get up, a mess of tangled sheets and bedhead, still screeching like a banshee. Well, it was actually more like his bottom half was still on the couch, but his top half had tumbled to the floor. When they got him calmed down and asked what the matter was, they always received the exact same answer:

_Nothing._

But they didn't believe him. Who in their right mind would?

And finally, Dani grew tired of the spirit's little game. She was extremely fed up with this roundabout "Mighty Ra, oh, damn it all to Osiris!" "What's wrong?" "Oh, nothing!" kind of thing. Though Bakura would never say it (he was too polite for that), he was reaching his limit on the nonsense, as well. He was considerably more irritable, and he became frustrated with homework, which was something that usually relaxed him. They both wanted it to stop.

So, this night, the eighth in the pattern, they made a pact together before going to bed. "We can't let this keep going on," Dani told Bakura, sitting on the edge of his bed. "Someone's bound to call the police because of all the screaming, and then where will we be?"

Bakura nodded. "I agree wholeheartedly with you, Danielle. It _has_ to stop. Do you _know_ how much sleep I'm getting?"

"Probably about as much as I am - AKA, none. The next time he gets woken up by a nightmare, we are not, repeat _not_, letting him get off scot-free. We _are_ interrogating him about this, and we _are_ finding out what's causing this. Deal?"

"Of course, Danielle."

"Good."

So, that night, the shouting from the living room came on cue - right around midnight. So, Bakura and Dani came out of their rooms. Bakura was quickly buttoning his pajama top, and Dani tying up the sash of her robe over her nightgown, as they rushed down the hall together. They stumbled, ran into things, since they were still half-asleep.

And, of course, they found the usual scene. Yami Bakura was on the floor, knotted up in the sheets, kicking and yelling, often swears. When Dyani tried to pull the sheet off him, he swatted at her, letting loose a string of Egypt's finest obscenities. Dani held onto Bakura's arm, and for good reason - Yami Bakura had once sealed someone's soul into a lamp for disturbing his sleep. They'd managed to make him let her go... but they tossed the lamp, anyway. Bad connotations and all that.

"Yami!" Panicking and not quite sure what to do, Dani wildly flipped the light on. "Wake up! It's not real!"

All of a sudden, Yami Bakura's head poked up from the sheets. His hair was even unrulier than usual. His big brown eyes were staring at them wide, obviously upset and appearing to be stressed. "Oh... hi, guys. Did I wake you?"

"Did you wake _us_?" Dani crossed her arms, letting go of Bakura. "You woke the _goldfish_, and they're supposed to be the heaviest sleepers on the face of the _Earth_, Yami."

"So? They probably just had a bad dream."

"Uh, no."

"_You're_ the one who's had the bad dream, who's _been_ having the bad dream," Bakura agreed, crossing his arms and finally putting his foot down. "It's been happening for the past week, Yami. Danielle and I both think that something is causing this, obviously, and we concur that we must get to the bottom of this. You are _not_ going back to sleep until we find out what is the cause of these wretched nightmares. So, then..." Helping his dark side up, he sat down. "What is the problem? What are your dreams about?"

"It was when I still lived in Egypt, five millennia ago. You wouldn't know how to stop them, or even interpret them. Be gone now, and _let_. _Me_. _**Sleep**_."

"If you go to sleep," Dani pointed out, sitting beside Bakura, "you'll just have the dream again. You'll wake up screaming, and we'll run in, and none of us will get a single wink of sleep. What's bothering you? Some unresolved matter from Egypt? A tomb you didn't get to raid? An enemy you didn't get to off as violently as desired? A... A..." She shook her head, trying to think of what else it could be-

Her brain clicked, and she blinked understandingly at him. "Was it a woman?" She grinned happily, delighted to find that Yami Bakura did indeed retain some sensitivity. "Oh, Tin Man!" She threw her arms around him. "You _do_ have a heart!"

"A woman!" Yami Bakura sputtered, pushing her away and folding his arms over his chest as he turned away from her. "Lies! Absurdity! Hikari, I hate to be the one to tell you, but your courtesan is ridiculous! Please tell her that I am not as weak as to get this upset - _upset at all!_ - over a woman!"

"Sh-She's not my _girlfriend_!" Bakura protested, face turning red.

"Uh, yeah, totally," Dani giggled nervously. She _wanted_ to be Bakura's girlfriend, but she didn't think he was ready, and that little display of embarrassment exactly showed her that. "But anyway... some unfinished business with this woman could be causing these-"

"There are no nightmares! There is no 'unfinished business'! There _is_ no _woman_, you mortal idiot!" he insisted - but tears were pooling in his hazel eyes.

Dani sighed. "What is your dream about, Yami Bakura? Is it the same each time? What happens?"

He let out a breath, putting a hand on his head. "I keep trying to reach her. It's like... like... like a video set on a continuous loop. A neverending replay of the day I lost her. They were making me... making me watch the whole thing. The day, at mid-morning... they took my love away from me. And I kept trying... running to her. They tried to hold me back, but they couldn't. But with every step I took... she just got farther away from me. I couldn't get to her. I couldn't save her. She died because of _me_, and that is something I can... I can't ever forgive myself for. It was all my fault. If I... If I hadn't interfered with her life... they wouldn't have..."

"What was her name?" Dani questioned, leaning toward him and putting a hand on Bakura's arm.

"Hmm." The spirit's eyes got a faraway look to them, and the other two could tell they were in for a very long story. "Masika."

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><p><strong>Reviews are much appreciated! And the longer the review, the better my motivation.<strong>

**As I said before, the rest of the story will be MUCH better, I promise!**

**By the way, why are all the YGO guys so frickin' hard to draw? Anybody know? It's their hair, isn't it? Damn porcupine hair... so pretty, so soft... but a pain in the ass to draw right!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Kaa Woman

It wasn't that Tozokuoh Bakura didn't like his given name. On the contrary, he loved it, for it was the only thing he still possessed of his family. But the Pharaoh and his court recognized that as the name of the Thief King. He was proud of his reputation, of course, for it had taken him a while to earn it, but it was suspicious. When he was in hiding or staying at an acquaintance's house (particularly if that acquaintance wasn't even a thief in the first place), the last thing he needed was the palace goons coming after him. He really didn't want any people apprehended because of him - especially if they were innocent. He didn't want caught himself, besides that.

So he simply called himself by the alias Bakaré. It still had the Egyptian feel, but it sounded little like "Bakura".

Tonight was what he liked to call "the night of nights". He was looting a tomb near the palace - without any assistance, reinforcements, or allies of any sort. No lookouts, no partners. It was definitely going to be a big night. He wasn't going to have any help - but he was confident that he could pull it off. He _was_ the King of Thieves, after all. He hadn't failed or gotten captured once.

So here he was, at the entrance to the large crypt. He had carefully tied his horse, Talaitha, up by the opening, and had calmed her down, assuring her he'd come back soon. And he went in.

As he looked around, he felt a grin spreading across his face. It was probably going to split his face in two, but at the moment, he really didn't care. Light glinted off the gorgeous gold treasures, shining all around him. Just the reflections from the artifacts lit up the entire tomb, practically, or so it seemed to be. "Ha! I'm undoubtedly going to eat well tonight!"

"Halt, thief... don't be so haughty, evildoer."

It was a woman's voice. What on Earth would a woman be doing here - and telling _him_ to stop? Women shouldn't be telling men to do _anything_, and especially _him_!

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><p>"What a sexist," Dani snorted. "If I knew that's what you thought of me, I wouldn't have gotten you that pack of new Ghoul monsters for your birthday."<p>

Yami Bakura scowled. "Could I tell my story without any comments from the nut gallery?"

"Peanut gallery," Bakura corrected.

"No, Ryou, she's definitely the _nut_ gallery. Now, where was I?"

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><p>Turning around, Bakaré saw a young lady, holding a small silver knife. Her hair was long and black; not tied up as many women's hair, but set wild and free about her shoulders and face. Her eyes, which at the moment were filled with anger, as well as an obvious hatred for him, were a deep green color.<p>

She was dressed in white, a fairly short dress. It came past her knees, but not all the way down to her ankles like women's dresses should be... flowing around her in the wind that was let in by the tomb entrance, exposing more skin. She was barefoot, but there were tight bandages around her ankles. Her skin wasn't as tanned as his was, but it wasn't unnaturally pale. Her hair whipped around her as she glared at him, looking unafraid. Did she know who she was facing here? If she did, she obviously must have a death wish.

"Oh?" He took a step toward her, amused. "And who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do? You are little more than a delicate Nile flower. I suggest you leave now, or you will get hurt. Run along, little beauty."

"No!" She placed a hand on her chest. "I fight for justice, and I will drive this lesson into you, fiend!" Removing her hand, she thrust it forward, fingers pointing at him. "Wingweaver, come to my aid!"

A six-winged woman appeared before Bakare, materializing in front of the other lady. This woman was clad in a golden gown, and had lavender hair, long nails, and no shoes - barefoot, just like the other woman. "If you have an opponent worthy of me," the winged woman, Wingweaver, announced, her voice resonating through the tomb like a bell, "I suggest you summon him now, grave robber. Do your worst, foul outlaw."

Bakaré smirked. So, this woman knew how to manipulate the true nature of her soul. Clever girl. "So then," he chuckled, tossing his headdress off to reveal his wild silver hair, "_you_ have a Kaa, too? Delightful! This battle shall prove interesting indeed, as it seems our monsters are evenly matched. Might I summon my own Kaa now?"

"Doing so will simply delay your defeat, thief!" the blonde woman shouted across the makeshift arena. "None can overpower Wingweaver, peaceful avenger from above!"

"Then let's do battle, woman. Might you trust me with the knowledge of your name?"

"If you'll give me yours, so the guards know who to go after!"

"I suppose you should know the name of the person who is about to kill you. My name is Tozokuoh Bakura - _you_, however, can call me Bakaré, as everyone does. I'm not worried about you telling anyone... after all, it's a secret you'll be taking to the grave! _Your_ name?"

"Masika Ahmed, the honorable punisher! Prepare to be judged by Anubis, thief!"

"Ha-ha-ha!" He grinned at her, summoning Diabound. "This is going to be a quick fight, Miss Masika!"

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><p>"I was right," Yami Bakura chuckled bitterly. "Oh, good Ra, was I right. It was quick - but the scales tipped in her favor!"<p>

"I thought you couldn't be defeated by anyone," Dani commented. She wasn't trying to be smart; it was just an innocent statement, filled with all the curiosity and disbelief of a child.

"Truly, how naive I was back then." He shook his head. "Now, I may have been the strongest thief - by far! But foolish was I to believe I was the strongest _person_. Masika, she wasn't either, but dear Ra... she was good enough to beat me that night." He shrugged. "I suppose it all came down to the fact that she was having a good night, and I wasn't. I was overconfident, and Diabound had not been exercised well. If you don't allow your Kaa practice, its abilities atrophy. But it was true, what I said before, our Kaas were evenly matched at that time. I suppose you could say they killed each other - reached a stalemate, stalled, and disappeared back into our bodies."

"So what happened?" Bakura asked, knitting his eyebrows together. "Did she really beat you to a bloody pulp? You must have escaped with _something_ intact."

Yami Bakura snorted. "Well, not my pride, hikari, that's for sure."

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><p>Diabound had weakened, and had failed Bakaré. The Kaa vanished, leaving his master lying on the ground, bleeding from the slash on his arm where the woman's Kaa had sliced Diabound's arm with her sharp feathers. He wasn't crying; thieves didn't cry. But to a regular citizen, this was a pain that made one wail and howl.<p>

Masika was not without wounds of her own, however. His Diabound had managed to wrap his tail around Wingweaver's leg and had squeezed it, so the woman's leg was rather bruised, probably painful to walk on. It wouldn't show through her dress, but she had torn the bottom half off for easier movement, leaving it only at her knees - unacceptable for most, if not all, women.

The last thing Bakaré saw before blackness invaded his vision was the image of Masika limping over to him - to him? Or was she going outside? To wake the guards... oh Ra, the guards, oh, no, no...

_I-I'm losing so much blood..._

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><p>"But you didn't die there, obviously," Bakura pointed out. "It wasn't a life-threatening injury, was it?"<p>

"At that time, no, it wasn't usually fatal, but that kind of thing could definitely debilitate you," his Yami answered. He sighed, closing his eyes and leaning back a bit. "Then you were pretty much doomed to a short life. If you couldn't use an arm or leg, you couldn't work - couldn't support yourself. Few people would take in a cripple. Family, maybe, but I didn't have any alive."

"That's horrible," Dani commented, brushing some hair out of her eyes. "Why wouldn't you help somebody if they needed help?"

"Back then," he replied, "you concerned yourself with you and no one else. Oh sure, people felt bad for not doing helping someone who needed help. But that didn't really change anything. You see, Dani, back then it was like an ocean. All the regular people were sharks, and the cripples were the sharks who had stopped moving. They were drowning. You stopped moving, even for a second to help another shark in need - you drowned too."

"What a vicious cycle," Bakura mumbled, looking down. "If I was alive back then, I wouldn't have cared. I would have helped someone if I could do it."

Yami Bakura let out a soft, bitter chuckle. "You think so, hikari."

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><p>When Bakaré awoke, he was not in a jail cell as he expected to be. Not lying on the cold floor of the tomb left for dead, either. He was on a soft bed, with cool sheets surrounding him and a pressure on his arm. He immediately looked over.<p>

Masika was there, beside him, with her hand on his arm. She was holding a cloth to it, pushing it against his skin. She met his eyes with hers, but said nothing.

He tried to growl at her, but it came out as a pitiful whimper. "Where am I?" he demanded, though it didn't sound nearly as intimidating as it would under different circumstances. Then again, under different circumstances he probably wouldn't even be saying it in the first place.

"My chambers," she answered, and her voice was very quiet. Almost as if she were afraid to speak any louder. "In the palace."

He instantly became suspicious, almost angry even. "Why?" He tried to sit up, but a sharp pain in his arm made his grunt and lie back down. "_Why_?"

Masika gave him a look that clearly and in no uncertain terms told him not to try that again. "Because I took pity on you, thief," she uttered softly, just loud enough to be heard. "Don't question it." She put the cloth down on the table, removing it from his arm and allowing him to see the dried blood. "Be grateful I spared your life, Bakaré."

He looked away from her. "You called for the guards, didn't you? They'll come for me, then."

"No. The foolish misconceptions of a thief." She picked up the cloth again and dipped it in a bowl of water. "I said that I took pity on you, did I not?"

"But... so... you..." He looked up at her, but just barely, out of the corner of his eye. "Didn't call for the guards...?"

"I did not, no."

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><p>"Wait wait," Dani spoke up, waving her hands. "Back up here, Yami. But you were a <em>thief<em>, and she was a _palace worker_!"

"That's right," Bakura agreed. "Why _wouldn't_ she report you to her superiors? Obviously they'd been trying to catch you for some time."

Yami Bakura nodded, and it was the look in his eyes, that let them both know that he was fairly weary of the world, of everything in it. That he didn't want to continue his story, but he felt it was something he had to do. "I never quite figured it out, you know... the reason she saved me from a horrible fate that night. I'm still not really sure."


End file.
